2009/8/24 David Nyman <david.nyman.domain.name.hidden>:
> In the example of the alien brain, as has been pointed out, the
> context of meaning is to be discovered only in the its own local
> embodiment of its history and current experience. In Stathis' example
> of *our* hypothesized observation of the alien's behaviour - whether
> simulated or 'real' - any meaning to be found is again recoverable
> exclusively in the context of either its, or our, historic and current
> context of experience and action. It is obvious, under this analysis,
> that information taken-out-of-context is - in that form - literally
> meaningless. The function of observable information is to stabilise
> relational causal configurations against their intelligible
> reinstantiation in some context of meaning and action. Absent such
> reembodiment, all that remains is noise.
Wouldn't the meaning (to the alien) still be there if the brain did
its thing without us understanding it, creating its own context? You
can divide it into two interacting parts, one the brain proper, the
other the virtual environment. The brain finds meaning in and
interacts with the environment, but to an outside observer it all just
looks like noise.
--
Stathis Papaioannou
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Received on Mon Aug 24 2009 - 21:38:37 PDT